Big stage for Hue Jackson’s debut

The preview story and capsule are up online, as the Raiders say they’re ready to show us that the preseason really is irrelevant. Oakland was 0-4 and had the worst point differential in the league (-57), but Hue Jackson is confident his team is ready.

We touched on all the matchups, but of course a key player to watch is quarterback Jason Campbell as he enters his contract year with a firm grip of the offense and his role as a team leader. Jackson said that for the brief time that he played that Campbell looked good in the preseason, and that the two are on the same page.

“We’re aligned at the hip,” Jackson said. “We all are on offense.”

The Raiders only scored 44 points in the four games this preseason, but that was without running back Darren McFadden and largely without receiver Jacoby Ford. The offense scored 410 points last season and is going to be fine, especially tonight if they are able to run right at pass rushers Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller.

A win tonight would stop an ugly 11-game losing streak on prime-time TV. The last six games, the Raiders have been outscored 175-53.

“You want to go out and, because it’s prime time and everybody gets to see it, you want to play good,” defensive tackle Tommy Kelly said. “But in the past, I know as long as I’ve been here, we haven’t played good on prime time. So this is another opportunity.”